


Iced Coffee

by MEGArdevoir



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-18 13:04:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3570653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MEGArdevoir/pseuds/MEGArdevoir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The most clichéd of AUs: the coffee shop. Anna is a barista whose new favorite customer orders only iced coffee, even during a blizzard. Elsanna. Non-sister AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Customer's Name

It started a few weeks into the fall semester, like so many other people she was likely a student. She was one of dozens of customers who would come on the same day, order the same drink, and sit in the same spot, so it should have not been anything notable. And for all but one barista, it was nothing notable.

 

Every Saturday at noon on the dot, she claimed the single seat at the small table in the corner of the shop. The spot was not the best in the room: situated as it was the seat had the worst lighting, provided a poor view of the windows, and ensured all nearby customers had their backs directed at it. It was the worst in the room. To be honest, the spot was intended to be nothing more than a place for an extra chair and a small table intended as decoration. The spot served no benefit unless one was trying to avoid notice by passersby, other patrons, and even the employees, save for that one barista.

 

Her usual order was strange. Not the fact she had one—half the customers got the same thing with every visit. And it was not strange until the seasons changed, because, well. Who would order iced coffee all throughout winter? The day she came in amidst what amounted to a blizzard, she asked for an iced coffee as other patrons shivered and sneezed around her.

 

When that barista had asked, she responded with a long pause and a soft, “The cold never bothered me, anyway.”

 

* * *

 

That barista was named Anna. Unlike all the people her age shuffling in and out of the coffee shop, she was not a college student. She _was_ a student, being in her last year of high school (turning eighteen _before_ her senior year made her feel like she was a year behind where she should be ), but she had nothing in ways of plans for the future. She was never good at that; she always lived in the moment. The closest to planning ahead came in the form of waiting for the clock at work to hit noon for her customer to arrive.

 

Even before Anna learned how odd the woman’s preferences were, her curiosity was piqued. Yes, being a college town and all, Anna could not so much as wave a hand without hitting an attractive coed, but this was different. The woman looked as though she had stepped out of a magazine ( Anna had even muttered ‘photoshop’ under her breath, earning her a baffled look in response )  with her slender figure and swaying hips—although those were noticed after; longer than should have been noticing them, yes, but definitely after.

 

No, while the woman’s body was certainly sculpted by Leonardo or Michelangelo ( her knowledge of artists was limited to the Ninja Turtles, unfortunately ) that was not what slapped her in the face. The first thing that struck her was the woman’s light, light almost white hair carefully braided and placed upon her shoulder; then, the snow-white skin and the bright icy-blue eyes. However, what caught her heart in her throat was the small way the woman smiled. Anna felt like royalty stepped into her little coffee shop.

 

Magazine royalty?

 

The fact the woman tipped her after she screwed up the order ( How does anyone forget the ice in an iced coffee at all, much less _twice_? ) helped, too. Anna christened her a genuine queen right then and there while staring in awe at the four dollar bills.

 

The woman left an hour later. Anna had been in the back office attending to an emergency. Did drinking coffee while on the job and _really, really_ needing to go count as a work-related emergency? She assumed yes. Still, she chastised herself for missing the opportunity to say good-bye, much less get the woman’s name.

 

* * *

 

 

After a week of kicking herself, Anna was ecstatic to find the woman coming back a week later. It was the beginning of what would become a habit for both of them.

 

Anna was in the middle of her self-allotted fist pump when the woman’s attire caught her attention. In hindsight, the woman had been impeccably dressed last week, but seeing her in something entirely different but as impressive gave Anna pause. She was genuinely curious if the woman was a model of some kind; if not, then did the woman dress that well every day? Anna was suddenly self-conscious of the wrinkled, off-center apron she wore and the half-assed ponytail her hair was in; she couldn’t imagine how this woman could look like that every day.

 

Hell, one morning she had left her apartment without pants.

 

Iced coffee again, this time without any difficulty. “Ha, look! I remembered the ice this time! First try.”

 

The woman blinked. The pause was short, but long enough for a hundred thoughts to go through Anna’s head, almost all of them amounting to ‘crap, crap, she doesn’t remember you. Why would she? Duh!’ until she was interrupted.

 

“You remembered me? Huh.”

 

Anna received another hefty tip that time, but it was the smile the woman beamed at that realization that left her with excitement.

 

* * *

 

 

Anna may have recognized her, but in her giddiness she forgot to use the opportunity to break the ice. She forgot to so much as ask for a name. What were the odds of another opportunity for casual conversation to pop up? How many times did a customer need to visit before asking for a name was awkward? Two? Three? Eight?

 

Hopefully not three, as today was the third time and she still failed to find out. The woman was in the secluded corner; instead of only enjoying her iced coffee, she was also typing away at a laptop this time. When the woman whipped out a pair of thin blue glasses and put them on, Anna’s heart almost stopped. There was no way this woman was real. Was she only a figment of her imagination?

 

“No. No, she is not a figment of your imagination. I see her, too.”

 

“Well, maybe you caught my crazy, Kris.”

 

“If your kind of crazy were contagious, I’d have caught it years ago. And would be too busy next door to work here.”

 

Kristoff. A childhood friend she had dragged into coffee shop employment. They tried romance once or twice years ago, but both decided it was too much like dating their siblings. Or at least they assumed, considering neither actually had any. He was not much of a people person, but he was dedicated and good at his job.

 

“So, why don’t you get why this is such a big deal? Look at her!”

 

Kristoff looked, making that the fourth time that afternoon Anna had asked him to look. “Yeah, I see her. Sitting there. Like last time. Being all…librarian-y.” He waved a hand. He had never been great with words, either, even though he would argue that there was just nothing else to say.

 

“Oh. Huh. You’re right, she does kind of have the sexy librarian thing going on.”

 

He groaned and shook his head. “First of all, no, I did not say that. Second, please for the love of all that is good in the world, do NOT lead with that. Do something ordinary and ask her, oh I don’t know, how her coffee is? How her day is going? Like you would any OTHER customer.”

 

“Maybe ordinary is best. I _am_ as ordinary as you can get.” Anna had her doubts, but Kristoff’s advice had been right often enough in the past for her to not ignore it despite going against her instincts.

 

“Hey, uh…You! Miss! How’s your drink?”

 

The shout across the shop turned almost all the heads in the shop in Anna’s direction; her target looked up, then left and right and left and right before pointing at herself. All the heads followed. Anna nodded vigorously and earned a small wave and a mouthed “good” before the woman slinked down into her chair.

 

“That was…awkward.”

 

Kristoff buried his face into his hands.

 

* * *

 

Progress had been made.

 

Blue. She was almost definitely absolutely beyond a shadow of a doubt positive that the woman’s favorite color was blue, probably.

 

It was a small victory--an easy one, too, seeing as Anna’s favorite customer (she felt the woman was a regular by now and could be titled so) always wore some shade of blue, whether it were her clothes, glasses, or her jewelry. Small and easy, but it felt like it gave Anna  some insight.

 

Still no name, though. Baby steps!

 

* * *

 

The first snow storm of the season hit hard and without warning. Business that day was all but nonexistent. Anna bemoaned the fact that adults did not get snow days but definitely should while Kristoff patted her on the back in support. He also told her to stop lying on the counter moping and to get to work.

 

Most of the customers that came in—as few as they were—looked like a mess. They all were covered in thick coats and hats and gloves that were hidden beneath stuck-on layers of snow that dropped all over the coffee shop’s floor. After unwrapping the layers of coat and scarves, all their faces were bright red and many noses ran.

 

And amidst all that entered her customer like a ray of light amongst the storm and rabble. The woman wore a light coat, thin blue gloves, earmuffs instead of a proper hat, and a scarf that was draped over her shoulders as an accessory instead of serving any practical purpose. Unlike the other customers, the woman took careful note of the ‘please brush off feet’ sign and made sure every bit of snow she meticulously dusted off fell onto the mat at the door and not the floor.

 

Instead of scurrying off to make the woman’s usual, Anna waited. When the woman got to the counter, she looked down with confusion as though expecting something to already be there. “Hi!” Pause. Anna continued, “What can I get? For you. What can I get for you—obviously I’m not getting anything for myse--”

 

The woman’s eyes grew wider as though her confusion was cleared. “Oh! Oh. My usual, please.”

 

“Iced coffee?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Today?” It was Anna’s turn to be confused. The steam from the other half dozen customers’ orders filled the room and they were all but shoving their faces into the cups. Ordering a cold drink in this weather was strange enough, much less one involving a bunch of ice.

 

“Oh. Yes. I…I like it, a lot. It’s my thing. Is that weird?” The woman broke eye contact. Anna noticed the corner of her smile quiver and her hands fidgeting. That question had not sounded rhetorical. “It’s probably weird, but…”

 

Anna smiled and slowly shook her head. “No. It’s not weird at all.”

 

The woman made eye contact again, gave a solid smile, and the fidgeting stopped. “Thanks. I know, with the storm and all, but…well.” She looked away again, only for a moment, before speaking again. “The cold never bothered me, anyway.”

 

Confident now that this woman was a super-human entity, Anna prepared the drink. In the process of ringing up the order, tragedy struck: the giddy barista knocked the cup clear off the counter. The scene moved in slow motion as the cup toppled towards the woman; the curse Anna let out was cut off by a ‘thank goodness’ as the flying liquid missed and landed messily but harmlessly on the floor.

 

“Sorry, Miss, I’ll get you—wait, Miss, you don’t have to—!”

 

Before she could prepare another drink or get to cleaning the mess, the woman snatched napkins from the dispenser on the counter and fell to the ground to sop up the brown liquid. Anna snatched some of her own and quickly ran around the counter.

 

“I’m sorry!” They both chimed at the same time. Anna had no time to wonder why the woman was apologizing and instead fell to the ground to take over cleaning the mess. In the process, she knocked their foreheads together. She let out a whine.

 

“I’m sorry!” Once again said in chorus. As they rubbed their foreheads, Anna wanted to apologize again but paused. Their faces were no more than a foot apart; even as her head pulsed with dull pain and the woman rubbed her own with a series of quiet ‘ow, ows’, she was distracted.

 

“Freckles. You have freckles.”

 

The woman froze and met Anna’s eyes. Her cheeks were tinted red. “Y…Yes. Yes, I do.”

 

The freckles had been difficult to notice as they were so light and on top of even lighter skin, but this close and Anna could see them. The woman broke eye contact and returned to cleaning the mess. Anna joined her, but the series of events left her embarrassed and her face as red as her hair.

 

Back behind the counter, Anna shook her head and waved her hand dismissively when presented with money. “No, that’s the third time I’ve messed up your order. I think there’s a rule about that? I think so. If there isn’t, I’m making one right now, so your drink is on the house today.”

 

Again, the woman looked like she was caught in a pair of headlights. “I… I can’t—you don’t need to do that, Anna.”

 

“No, I insist, I--” Anna stopped and shot the woman a look. “You know my name?”

 

The red in the woman’s face turned darker. An ‘uh’ and an ‘um’ later, she raised an eyebrow and pointed to Anna’s chest. “Your nametag.” Oh. Right. Anna had been so focused on getting to know the woman that hearing her name come out of that mouth made her miss the obvious.

 

“Actually, oh—oh…” The hand fidgeting returned and the woman looked away.  “I’ve come here so much that I’ve been hoping to introduce myself, but, uh…I haven’t thought of a way that wasn’t strange. Including this right now, in fact.”

 

Anna could see disappointment on her face. Disappointment and…shame? That would have been such a strong reaction. “No, no, nooo. Please, call me Anna. I insist.” When the woman looked her in the eyes again, she could see the embarrassment melt away and replaced with a smile.

 

“Thank you.” She giggled, looked at her gloved hand, and reached across the counter. “You’re very…energetic.” Anna stared at the hand; she heard a laugh before she accepted and shook gently.

 

“I’m Elsa.”

 

Anna’s eyes grew wide and her mouth gaped open. She other hand gripped the wom—no, _Elsa’s_ hand and the shake became much more animated. “I’m Anna! Oh, well, you know that already, but—y’know. It feels more official this way.”

 

The baffled look Anna received from Elsa did nothing to dampen her mood. “Very, _very_ energetic.” Anna bounced and stood up proud as Elsa took her iced coffee and walked over to her corner.

 

“Oh, Miss—I mean, Elsa! You forgot this!” Anna waved the bills Elsa had left on the counter. She must have forgotten about the money in all the excitement.

 

“I didn’t. On the house or not, you still get a tip.”

 

Any retort Anna tried to muster fell short. Giving up, she looked to her favorite customer and then at the hefty tip.

 

“Elsa. Got it.”


	2. The New Customer's Secret

Everything was going well.

At least, that was how Anna felt. Kristoff had a different opinion on the situation. “You learned her name three weeks ago but haven’t done anything else?” He would never understand true love or romance, Anna concluded; learning Elsa’s name had been a triumph that sent their relationship to new heights—heights that mostly involved Anna bouncing behind the counter and blurting out ‘HI ELSA’ the moment the woman entered the shop, but that was what made their connection so genuine! They did not need more words.

Anna wanted more words, though. She had many more words she wanted to say. For example, “Would you like to go out?” and “What do you do for fun?” as well as “Hey, nice butt!”

Anna received admiration from Kristoff for her eloquence, but he claimed saying hello and watching her drink coffee while tapping at a laptop could not count as a ‘relationship’. While she defended against his comments and the accusation that she was only two steps below being a stalker, Anna admitted to herself that things had not progressed as quickly as expected after conquering the hurdle of learning names.

In her defense, the best laid plans of mice and men would go careening off course in the face of that smile.

“The longer you wait, the more disappointed you’ll be.” Kristoff pulled her out of another day dream and she shot him a look. “You’re building up your Dairy Queen--”

“ _Snow_ Queen.”

“—to be some sort of…well, a queen, I guess. Or a goddess or whatever. The point is, she’s not a real person in your head. When you learn something about her—something _real—_ that makes her a person, you’re going to be disappointed, Anna.”

She rolled her eyes. If she thought Elsa was amazing, it was only because she called it as she saw it. Of course Anna didn’t think Elsa was perfect! Only that the woman was really, really, _really_ close to it.

“She probably has a drug habit.”

“That seems extremely unlikely, Kris.”

“Leaves the toilet seat up, I bet.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“Picks. Her. Nose.”

That earned him a punch to the shoulder.

“What I’m saying is, she’s got baggage. Everyone does. You think you’ll be able to handle it when you learn she’s human and not the fairy tale picture in your head?”

 

* * *

 

Anna’s world turned upside down that day.

Things had played out the same way they had for so many weeks: Anna fidgeted more and more until she reached a fidgety climax at noon at which time Elsa would walk in like sunshine wearing another bafflingly attractive blue-themed outfit. When it was Elsa’s turn to order, Anna went to put together the order of iced coffee when she was interrupted.

“Oh. Actually, Anna,” Elsa said while staring up at the menu, the first time Anna had seen her do so since that first day. “I’d like, um. A small…coffee. A regular coffee.” She sounded unsure.

Anna was a little confused and a little surprised, but the customer was always right and all that. Elsa grabbed the cup only to immediately let go and wave her hand. “Right. Hot. Hotter than I expected.” She used a few napkins as insulation and went to her corner.

Forty minutes went by and Anna was sure of two things: one, that something was wrong in the universe and, two, that only she could correct it. She prepared an iced coffee with extra sugar and a bit of chocolate—the custom drink she had made some time ago for Elsa that had become the woman’s regular—and took it to Elsa. “Hey.”

The woman practically leaped out of her chair and Anna almost dropped the drink in her own surprise. “Oh, I—” Elsa let out a breath. “Sorry. I was thinking and didn’t see you, Anna. You surprised me.”

“Yeah, I saw. Here.”

“Huh? But I already ordered.”

“I know, but I think you did it wrong.” From here, Anna could tell she had been right. Elsa had taken no more than one sip of her hot coffee; if that observation had been right, then the others were likely right, too: Elsa had not typed anything since sitting down and was slouching the entire time instead of sitting with her typical proper posture.

Elsa laughed and shook her head at the drink being offered. “Yes, I think you may be right.” She took it. “My th— _friend_ suggested I try doing things differently.” She sat upright and took a sip.

“Different can be good.” Anna nodded. “Your friend wasn’t wrong, but I think sticking with you like best is good, too.” Anna received a smile that sent her heart into a flutter.

“I like to think so, too.”

 

* * *

 

The next week, Elsa had left early.

After ringing up Elsa, Anna watched her stop in the middle of the shop. In the woman’s usual spot was another customer. Anna watched as she looked to the vacant seats—some at the window, others in the center of the room—only for her to scurry out the door with her face down.

That was a drastic reaction. The other seats were just fine—in fact, better than that shadowy, hidden corner in every way. Did Elsa leave because it was taken? Anna could not think of an explanation that made sense. If Anna had wanted the seat so badly, she would have asked the other customer to move. Elsa could have done the same.

Anna made sure the seat was available at noon every week after.

 

* * *

 

Anna found herself watching the coffee shop by herself that Saturday. Kristoff had gone next door to deliver some drinks.

“We don’t do deliveries,” Anna had said.

“The doc tips well,” Kristoff said;.

“He’s not a doctor!” Anna shouted as Kristoff left.

That was how it went every time they got a call from next door. The real problem was not so much the delivery but that running into the ‘doc’ meant a five minute visit would become a two hour stay. Apparently the sessions with his patients were not enough interaction for him.

When half an hour passed Anna knew Kristoff had fallen into the trap and she was left to tend to the customers herself.

The moment the torrent of orders—cappuccinos, frappacinos, coffees, and things she had not known they even served—let up a bit, she shouted “break time!” at the ceiling and leaped over the counter. She plopped herself into Elsa’s seat and let her face take a moment of respite on the table. The waves of customers were too much for one person to handle; Anna’s usual pit of energy was nearly tapped even though the day was not yet half over.

The spot was nicer than she had expected. In this rare moment of wanting to hide from everything, the spot provided just that. The seats and the customers in them on either side of her provided a wall that kept her out of eyesight; she was able to look out the window without the people outside noticing her, which was nice even if the view was not great. This was the perfect spot to hide away from the world while still enjoying being a part of it.

The spot was great, except for the seat. Her butt was already sore. The cheap wooden seat needed a cushion.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone come up to the table. She was caught. With her face still laying on it, she could not see who it was but odds were it was either Kristoff or a customer. “Break! On break. Five more minutes. I know you need coffee.” She waved a hand in the air and flashed a thumbs-up. “Just five, okay?”

“Actually, I think you might need coffee more than me for once.”

That voice. Anna shot up in the seat and there stood its proper owner. “Elsa! Sorry. I’ll get you your—”

“No. You said five more minutes, right?”

Anna readied a retort, but something about the look Elsa gave forced her to swallow it. However, she did manage to jump out of the chair and gesture for Elsa to sit. The woman looked like she had something to say herself, but nothing came out of her, either. Instead, she sat. Anna yanked a chair from another table and joined Elsa in the cramped space.

For weeks—no, at this point it had been months—Anna imagined being in just this position, but now that she was her mind could not think of a thing to say. What would be appropriate? Could she say what she wanted to say without freaking Elsa out? Was there an appropriate way to word that at all? How did small talk work? She had to think of—

“How’s your butt?”

“Wait, what?” Elsa raised an eyebrow.

“I mean your seat! I sat in it. Right, you saw that, but—what I mean is that it wasn’t very comfortable.”

Elsa laughed and shook her head. “No, it’s fine.”

“You sure? Because it’s important to me.” Anna saw Elsa’s eyebrow go even higher. “I mean the seat! The seat being comfortable—I didn’t mean your _butt._ That would be weird. Right? I’m not talking about your butt. Or thinking about your butt, even. At least, not separate from you as a whole and—”

“Anna, you don’t need to be nervous.” Elsa was shaking and her face was red; Anna was afraid until she realized the woman was doing everything in her power to hold back laughter.

“I’m not nervous.” Anna managed to say it with a furrowed brow and a frown, almost managing to convince herself that that was true.

“You play with your hair when you’re nervous.”

Anna prepared to deny that, too, when she realized Elsa was right. Her hands were toying with the end of one of her pigtails. She smiled and let go of it. “Sorry. It’s not often I get to sit with customers like this.”

“You should start. I think it would go over well.” Elsa paused and frowned. “Maybe too well. Customers would never leave if it meant sitting with you.”

Anna could tell how stupid the grin on her face must have looked, but she did not care. “I don’t think I’d be allowed to do that unless I charged by the hour.” She had a job to do, after all. But she saw her chance right now—one that she may not get again. She lived in the moment and took it. “Although…I do think I could offer the service to just _one_ person. I can get away with that much.”

Elsa blinked, and then Anna saw her smile. Those white cheeks gained a red hue. “Well. My point stands.” They locked eyes. “The lucky customer might never leave.”

Anna shrugged. “We can handle making a few extra iced coffees.”

 

* * *

 

Anna had lied.

She _had_ been thinking of Elsa’s butt.

So, she bought a cushion for that seat.

It earned her a smile and a disbelieving headshake.

 

* * *

 

“Did you know she’s going to school for architecture?”

“Yes. Unbelievably, I remember from the last time you told me.”

“Oh. Right.” In her excitement over the last few weeks, she had become more and more giddy. Anna got to the point that she spewed any fact about Elsa at Kristoff when given the opportunity, sometimes cycling through them repeatedly. “Isn’t it cool, though? It totally fits her. It’s like…smart _and_ creative at the same time. There aren’t many things like that, y’know?”

She could tell between the eye rolls that Kristoff was happy for her. He had even said so! Granted, he worded it as “At least you’re talking to her now. A few more weeks of just watching her from afar and I’d be worried you’d start collecting her hair.” He let her take an extra break so that she could have fifteen more minutes with Elsa.

Their times together were short like that, being restricted to Anna’s breaks and all. Despite that, Anna had been learning a lot. Elsa was attending college like she had always assumed, she had impressed the woman by guessing her favorite color, and found out they both liked chocolate. They were all mundane details to most, but Anna dedicated each to memory the moment she learned them.

On top of that, Anna had not learned or seen or heard a single thing that contradicted her ‘glorious queen’ image. If anything, it had been reinforced: Elsa was always calm and patient, letting Anna yammer on about nothing and answering her questions. All of that along with confirmation Elsa was intelligent and creative as well as beautiful left Anna oozing adoration.

“Hey.” Anna snapped back to reality after realizing Kristoff had said something to her. “Earth to Anna. Get your head out of the clouds for a second and take this next door.”

Anna groaned. It was almost noon—she didn’t want to miss her, uh, whatever things with Elsa were (not dates, right? No. Dang.) by getting stuck listening to that pudgy man yammer on and on. But Kristoff had done it last time, so it was her turn. She could sneak in and out without being seen, right? And if she were seen, she could come up with an excuse or two to escape the conversation.

After all, he was a therapist and talking to people was part of his job, but _she_ was not crazy despite what some may have aid.

She took the cardboard tray of drinks: a large coffee, a cappuccino, a medium coffee, and an iced coffee.

Next door, Anna carefully looked into the waiting room to see if the ‘doc’ was there. There she saw the receptionist and a person with their face buried in a children’s magazine in the waiting room but no sign of the man. According to the receptionist he was in the middle of a session, so Anna knew she would be able to get out without any trouble.

Pumped and ready to go back, she took the money and gave her thank you, only to stop in the middle of the waiting room. So focused she had been on looking for the short man, she had not registered the person in the waiting room. Even with the woman’s face obscured by the magazine, Anna recognized her—that hair and that outfit and that one odd drink…

“Elsa?”

The figure took a moment, but she put the magazine down. It was her. This was Anna’s lucky day: she could sit here with Elsa and blame the therapist for being late getting back. qhatever excitement Anna had drained away when she saw the expression on Elsa’s face. The woman did not look her in the eyes and instead looked directly at the floor.

“Hey, Elsa. Are you here with someone?” Anna assumed Elsa was waiting for whoever was in the session. She probably came here for someone’s emotional support. Going to a therapist could be embarrassing, after all.

“No. No, not exactly.”

“Huh?” Anna took a moment to put things together. “Oh. Oh!” She let the pause that followed last longer than she should have. What should she have done? Elsa was obviously not happy they ran into each other. “Sorry. So, uh. I’m gonna head back to work, Elsa.”

“Yeah. Good idea.” Elsa’s voice sounded so tired. Each word was said short and sharp.

Anna nodded. She waved before she left the office, but Elsa’s face was in one of her hands. Back at the coffee shop, Anna only spoke when necessary. She waited for Elsa to show up at the usual time and order the usual drink.

Elsa never did.


End file.
